Looking for a new phone you must have come across the term UltraPixel. You must be wondering what it is now. Most of us are used to using the simple expression pixel, which means a simple dot on the screen or photos we take. Also, ‘pixel’ is a term used to denote the quality of a camera. Usually, more pixels mean higher photo quality. In principle, it is so, but lately, we have witnessed some new winds blowing in this field.
For several years now, we have been witnessing that some phones with 8 and more megapixels do not give the results we expect from them. Most mid- and high-end models now have 13MP cameras. The qualities of the photos they take are different and I can freely say that the differences between them are great. So the number of pixels is important, but not crucial.
The number of pixels is important!?
Don’t be fooled by the simple number of pixels. Cameras today have so many pixels that the differences between them become miserable. However, the quality of the sensor, ie how much it is able to “catch” light, is something completely different. So not every 13MP camera is better than the 8MP one!
UltraPixel is the term by which HTC wants to send such a message to customers. The HTC One model, which dates back to March 2013, and the new supersonic HTC One M8, which appeared earlier this year, use only 4MP cameras. It would be more accurate to say that they use 4 mega-ultra pixel cameras.
A larger pixel “absorbs” more light. With a classic camera, when you press the capture key, it collects millions of tiny pixels into a single image. In contrast, the UltraPixel camera tries to do it in an easier way. The point is that ultra pixels are far larger than classic ones. On average, the ratio is over 2: 1.
A larger pixel “absorbs” more light (somewhere around three times more), so you shouldn’t be surprised if you see that some “modest” HTC takes better photos than a massive camera with a sea of pixels. To make the whole story clearer, just take a trivial example. Whenever you take photos on a beautiful and sunny day, the photos turn out better than those indoors or those taken in the dark!
UltraPixel vs 13+ MP
UltraPixel cameras bring more light, detail, and color. They simply make the photo far better than the classic one. However, in order for a camera to be good, it still needs to have optical stabilization and good software that inevitably has to “process” the photo a bit immediately after the moment it is taken.
This is not to say that the HTC One M8 has the best camera among the phones (although it is one of the few), because the best Samsung models ( Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 ) have great cameras, as well as those with the Sony logo ( Xperia Z2 for example). Of course, we should not forget the recorder by the number of pixels – Nokia Lumia 1020.
You will find the best camera on one phone in their power measurement with each other. To compare Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 click HERE.